Lap bar or OTSR?

[herbinator]

What it says on the tin, do you prefer lap bars or OTSR's? Lap bars are more open but personly I prefer OTSR's as generally speakingI find them comftable.

 

[Ian]

I looked on the tin and it said "Best Before 24 Apr 11", nothing about restraints, but I was looking at a Fray Bentos pie.

It's one of those topics where I will sit on the fence, explain my reasons why and then answer it as if I had a gun to my head.

Generally speaking, I like restraints to suit the ride.

For example, I wouldn't want to ride something like Nemesis or Air (!) with a lap bar. I wouldn't feel safe.

On the other hand, I prefer riding TTD to Stealth because of the lap bars (forgetting height and speed) offering me more freedom and safety.

If I had a gun to my, I'd say OTSR because they offer maximum safety and enough freedom to enjoy a ride.

 

[Snoo]

Lap bars. <3

 

[valleyfair!]

Lap Bars no doubt. More freedom on the ride.

 

[corkscrew]

OTSR because they fill me with excitement of the ride to come.

 

[andrus]

I took for granted that everybody prefers lap bars over otsr? :? The lap bar adds so much to the ride that the otsr doesn't. Just look at blue fire: an average looping coaster, not to big, not to fast and nothing special at all really except for the inline twist at the end. Still everbody loves the ride! Why? Because of the restraints. Even though B&M produce larger, faster and more forceful loopers blue fire still beats many of the B&Ms all because of the freedom the lap bar gives you. I really hope that more companies start to copy Mack and put lap bars on their loopers, it's a vast difference!!

 

[nadroJ]

I've always found lap bars give you the most freedom and therefore you feel the forces and airtime and other exciting things of the ride but I do agree that OTSRs add excitement because they usually mean a bigger, supposedly scarier ride.

 

[jokerman]

Obviously it changes depending on the ride...

Daft topic, in my opinion.

 

[F.A.S.T.]

It's all about rider comfort&safety. As long as you are safely secured and it's not painful, lap bars win every time.

 

[T0M]

Lap bar as they give the liberating fear of being almost too free. Rush wasn't as scary as I thought it would be, actually, but with OTSR it would certainly be nothing.

 

[Thekingin64]

If I had a gun to my, I'd say OTSR because they offer maximum safety and enough freedom to enjoy a ride.

Exactly the Same for me.

 

[CreditCrazy]

Lap Bars... They're so nice and friendly!

 

[s15c]

All depends. I only like the lap bars that make you feel super cozy and safe. Intamin trains and B&M Mega Coasters have nice restraints. Arrow mega coasters, not so much.

 

[bizarrofan10]

lap bar

The best restraint is the T-shaped clamshell harness used on Nitro, Diamondback, and other similar hyper coasters.

 

[canobie8894]

easily lap bars more freedom and comfortability

 

[Jodabomb24]

This is a difficult question to answer. On a wooden ride, there is no question. Lap bars are superior, especially with wooden rides' propensities towards airtime hills. On a B&M Hypercoasters like Nitro, Behemoth et al., the clamshell-type restraints mentioned earlier are the best, especially with the stadium-style seating on Behemoth. Even looping steel ones like, for example, Joker's Jinx at SFA are better with lap bars, despite the fact that they offer less security. However, on an inverted ride, such as any of the numerous Batman clones, OTSRs are just a little better. Lap bars on those sorts just seem a little TOO free.

 

[Hyde]

What are we riding?

I heart the feel of handbars on OTSRs when dealing with very rapid turns/inversions, but also love the freedom of lapbars with airtime and straight out speed.

So both, depending on the ride.

HOWEVER, lapbar-ed rides tend to give the best sensation (refer to my top 10), so lapbars.

 

[CedarPoint27]

Definetely lap bars no question.

 

[tribar]

Why is this even a topic? Lap Bars obviously

 

[Mysterious Sue]

OTSRs can obscure the view and can create earbashing. I love the comfort and freedom of lapbars. My favourite are those on woodies where you can move about freely during the ride, and the hyper clamshells which you soon forget are even there. I suppose there is an argument that some rides would be unsafe with lap bars, but joyfully there seem to be an increasing number of inverted rides designed with lapbars these days.

Meanwhile, I dislike the move towards larger, more intrusive OTSRs, such as those on wing riders, with rubber all against your chest, large restraints and a cage around your leg. Just no. And my least favourite have to be those on Intamin launches, where OTSRs shift from a mere nuisance to being disgustingly painful for me to the point where they detract from the ride.